The Hairy Bikers’ Black Forest trifle

Name: Hairy Bikers chocolate trifle
Prep time: 45 min
Yield: 8 servings

A delightfully decadent boozy chocolate and cherry trifle from The Hairy Bikers.

Image credit: Shutterstock

By The Hairy Bikers | Published - 2 Nov 2018 | Updated - 9 Jul 2025

Prep time

45 mins

Serves

Ingredients

For the chocolate custard

100g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
300ml whole milk
300ml double cream
1 vanilla pod, split
6 egg yolks
100g caster sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp cornflour

For the trifle

500g chocolate cake or brownies
50g black cherry or Morello cherry jam
100g kirsch or cherry brandy
300g pitted black cherries
200g amaretti biscuits
500ml double cream
Chocolate curls, to decorate

Method

Chocolate custard, cake and booze. What’s not to like? This is a real showstopper of a trifle and should be greeted with hearty cheers when you bring it to the table. Try it once and it will become a proper tradition.

1. First make the custard as this will need to chill before you make up the trifle. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. The base of the bowl shouldn’t touch the water. Allow the chocolate to melt, then remove the bowl from the pan and leave the chocolate to cool.

2. Put the milk and cream into a saucepan with the vanilla pod and bring to just below boiling point. Remove from the heat and leave the milk to infuse and cool slightly.

3. Put the egg yolks, caster sugar, cocoa powder and cornflour into a bowl. Whisk, preferably with electric beaters, until the mixture is very well aerated, pale and stiff enough that it keeps its shape when you trail the beaters through it.

4. Remove the vanilla pod from the slightly cooled milk and cream mixture. Pour the milk and cream over the egg mixture, stirring as you go, then fold in the melted chocolate.

5. Mix thoroughly, then rinse out the saucepan and pour the custard back into it. Cook, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens – this can take anything from 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how high you dare have the heat. Don’t have the heat too low or the custard will not thicken, but make sure you don’t let it boil. Keep stirring.

6. When the custard has thickened to the point of thick double cream, transfer it to a jug and cover with cling film to stop a skin forming. When cool, transfer the mixture to the fridge – the custard will continue to thicken while it chills.

7. To make the trifle, cut the brownies or cake into fairly thin slices and spread them with the jam. Sandwich the slices together and arrange them in the bottom of a large trifle bowl. Pour over the kirsch or cherry brandy, then sprinkle over the cherries.

8. Put a layer of the amaretti biscuits over the cherries, then pour over the custard in a thick, even layer. If you have time, place the bowl in the fridge until almost ready to serve, again covered in cling film. Whisk the double cream in a bowl until it forms soft peaks, then smooth this over the custard. Decorate with chocolate curls.

Hairy Biker tip:

For an additional touch of festive decadence, decorate the trifle with chocolate-dipped cherries.

This recipe is from The Hairy Bikers’ British Classics (Seven Dials), RRP £25

Check price

Written by: The Hairy Bikers

Si King and Dave Myers, the Hairy Bikers, became national treasures with their blend of enthusiasm and humour.
They hosted more than 30 TV series combining motorcycling and cooking, and sold more than 6 million copies of their books. In February 2024, Dave Myers passed away after a long battle with cancer.

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